Post navigation

Solving Kids’ Cancer Kicks Off “Cut to the Cures” at Spring Celebration to Support New Research for Deadliest Children’s Cancers

Solving Kids’ Cancer (SKC), a non-profit dedicated to improving survival rates for the deadliest childhood cancers, will launch Cut to the Cures at its third annual fundraising gala. Proceeds raised at the event will fund new clinical trials in the emerging area of pediatric cancer immunotherapy.

Co-hosted by Donna Karan, Russell James and Ali Franco, the Spring Celebration will be held Wed. May 9th from 6:30-10:30 at Gotham Hall in New York City. Proceeds from a live Study Sponsorship Auction will help fund a new cancer immunology clinical trial for children to be launched in partnership with the National Cancer Institute. Sandra Bernhard and Nigel Barker will emcee the evening’s formal program. Sponsored by HBO and the David Simon Foundation, the Spring Celebration will include a performance by the National Dance Institute and readings from childhood cancer patients and their parents.“ Although striking progress has been made treating childhood leukemia, with survival rates approaching 90%, advances for other pediatric cancers such as neuroblastoma, brain tumors and sarcomas have been much slower and survival rates are still less than 50% for these deadly cancers,” said Scott Kennedy, Executive Director of Solving Kids’ Cancer.

Cut to the Cures will focus on novel therapies such as cancer vaccines, modified T-cells, Natural Killer (NK) cells and therapeutic antibodies. “Traditional drug therapies have not made a significant impact for kids with high risk solid tumors. As a result, we plan to center our efforts on the potentially more promising area of immunotherapy,” said Kennedy. Cancer immunotherapy attempts to stimulate the patient’s own immune system to destroy malignant tumor cells through vaccines or therapeutic antibodies. “Clinical research is often the only place where children can get treatment when frontline chemotherapy fails. Cut to the Cures allows us to provide more treatment options that have the potential to deliver benefits to children with difficult cancers,” he added.

Founded in 2008, SKC has funded a variety of clinical trials to provide children with new treatment options in cancer centers across North America including Texas Children’s Cancer Center, Cincinnati Children’s Hospital, Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, The Hospital for Sick Kids, Toronto, and the Dana Farber Institute.